Philip "Phil" Charles Henry

I knew when I first heard the big guy from Phoenix laugh at the bowling alley on league night that I wanted to get to know him. We worked in Telecom and met in January 1982 in Lisle, Illinois. We fell in love and dated exclusively for the next few years. Phil proposed to me in July 1987, and we were married on November 6, 1987. Our teenage son, Michael, walked me down the aisle. The three of us made our home in Littleton, Colorado. After Michael was on his own, we bought a house in a golf community in the foothills of Larkspur, Colorado. Phil took a job in Bakersfield, California for a couple of years, and then we lived for 16 years on a 45-foot sailboat in Ventura, California. Phil finally got back to his beloved Arizona when we moved to Phoenix in August 2019 to care for Phil’s aging sister. We celebrated 37 years of marriage on November 6, 2024.

Before we met, Phil was quite the daredevil. In Phoenix, he started riding motorcycles when he was 14. He loved to tell stories about how he and his friends pulled water skiers behind their cars as they raced along one of the Phoenix canals. Phil jumped out of planes and taught others to jump, too. He was proud to have provided jump training to John Deutschendorf (aka, John Denver). Phil joined the Navy, went to Viet Nam, and served as a celestial navigator on several big ships. He was honorably discharged and, to his death, was a proud Patriot.

Phil brought his sense of adventure to our marriage, and we enjoyed golf and golf events, SCUBA, motorcycle riding, bicycling, sailing, downhill skiing, target shooting at the gun range, and bowling. Phil loved fast sports cars and owned a blue “E” Jaguar, a black Corvette, and he still has a white Corvette. Phil had a great voice and loved to sing. He knew bawdy songs from his Navy days, music from most decades, and almost all country music.

Phil was the love of my life for more than 40 years and it feels impossible right now to imagine living without him by my side. I have many happy memories that I hope will comfort me. I know I’ll be okay, but I’m going to miss him so very much! Rest in Peace, my darling Phil.